My Rating: ★★★☆☆
I was very reluctant to read this series as first. Why? Because it has vampires and werewolves and while I used to read a lot of these books when I was younger, at some point in my life I grew so sick of them that I really couldn't be bothered to read anything with vampires and werewolves again. Meanwhile, the hype for this series kept growing stronger and I found myself wanting to see what it's all about. So I discovered that there was a movie made after this book and I decided to watch it. Bad move! Why? It's easy. Not knowing what this book was all about, I really enjoyed the movie.
I started this series last week and when I finished reading City of Bones, I was very confused. The book and the movie are nothing alike. It's like two completely different stories. No wonder the movie flopped, which is sad really because three books in, I kind of want a series of movies for these books. Anyhow, as I was reading this book I kept searching for similarities between the novel and the movie and I found few. But the story seemed interesting enough, so I carried on.
City of Bones is a very interesting book. The protagonist, Clary Fray, finds herself in the middle of a world she never knew existed. Shadowhunters, Downworlders, Angels and Demons. Clary never thought any of this was possible before, but after recent events she seems to think otherwise. One night, Clary witnesses a murder in the local club where she and her best friend, Simon, were going for fun. But when she realizes that neither Simon, nor the rest of the people in the club, seem to be able to see the murderers, she begins to question everything around her.
Odd things continue to happen to Clary after the events at the club and eventually, she meets Jace. Jace is the Shadowhunter that Clary saw commit the murder that night at the club. After being attacked by a demon, Clary finds herself in the company of the mysterious boy who insists on taking her to the Institute, where he and other Shadowhunters live under the guidance of a man named Hodge. Eventually, Clary begins learning new things and the most important of them all is that the world she thought she knew is not what it seems.
Overall, I liked this book but that's just it. After hearing all the amazing things about the series, I really wanted to love the books. I wanted them to be shelved with my favorites. And I really tried to love
City of Bones but honestly, I didn't. Maybe one of the reasons was that I had already seen the movie and so the major plot twists weren't major at all. I'm not sure, but I really didn't find this book as extraordinary as everyone makes it out to be.
I don't even know for sure how I felt about the characters. There were times when I liked Clary and times when I didn't. I actually liked Simon and I really don't know why so many people keep complaining about him. And Jace? Well, even though I found him pretty badass and funny, and his sarcasm was one of the best things about this book, Jace is a jerk. The way he acted with Clary for most of the book, before he fell in love with her, was just horrible. I loved him and I hated him.
Also, City of Bones was really slow at times which made it kind of boring considering how long this book is. The characters are definitely likable in a weird way, as in even if they're annoying or mean, they make the plot interesting. So, even though Alec seemed like a jerk for most of the book, he was interesting because of his loyalty for Jace and his sister. Isabelle was likable from the very beginning because who doesn't love a badass chick?
That being said, City of Bones wasn't a great read but it definitely wasn't a bad one. I'm glad that I decided to give the series another chance and kept reading the sequels because things get more interesting in the following novels. So, if, like me, you read this book and thought meh, I definitely recommend checking the sequels at well because they might surprise you in a good way. They definitely surprised me.
I started this series last week and when I finished reading City of Bones, I was very confused. The book and the movie are nothing alike. It's like two completely different stories. No wonder the movie flopped, which is sad really because three books in, I kind of want a series of movies for these books. Anyhow, as I was reading this book I kept searching for similarities between the novel and the movie and I found few. But the story seemed interesting enough, so I carried on.
City of Bones is a very interesting book. The protagonist, Clary Fray, finds herself in the middle of a world she never knew existed. Shadowhunters, Downworlders, Angels and Demons. Clary never thought any of this was possible before, but after recent events she seems to think otherwise. One night, Clary witnesses a murder in the local club where she and her best friend, Simon, were going for fun. But when she realizes that neither Simon, nor the rest of the people in the club, seem to be able to see the murderers, she begins to question everything around her.
Odd things continue to happen to Clary after the events at the club and eventually, she meets Jace. Jace is the Shadowhunter that Clary saw commit the murder that night at the club. After being attacked by a demon, Clary finds herself in the company of the mysterious boy who insists on taking her to the Institute, where he and other Shadowhunters live under the guidance of a man named Hodge. Eventually, Clary begins learning new things and the most important of them all is that the world she thought she knew is not what it seems.
Overall, I liked this book but that's just it. After hearing all the amazing things about the series, I really wanted to love the books. I wanted them to be shelved with my favorites. And I really tried to love
City of Bones but honestly, I didn't. Maybe one of the reasons was that I had already seen the movie and so the major plot twists weren't major at all. I'm not sure, but I really didn't find this book as extraordinary as everyone makes it out to be.
I don't even know for sure how I felt about the characters. There were times when I liked Clary and times when I didn't. I actually liked Simon and I really don't know why so many people keep complaining about him. And Jace? Well, even though I found him pretty badass and funny, and his sarcasm was one of the best things about this book, Jace is a jerk. The way he acted with Clary for most of the book, before he fell in love with her, was just horrible. I loved him and I hated him.
Also, City of Bones was really slow at times which made it kind of boring considering how long this book is. The characters are definitely likable in a weird way, as in even if they're annoying or mean, they make the plot interesting. So, even though Alec seemed like a jerk for most of the book, he was interesting because of his loyalty for Jace and his sister. Isabelle was likable from the very beginning because who doesn't love a badass chick?
That being said, City of Bones wasn't a great read but it definitely wasn't a bad one. I'm glad that I decided to give the series another chance and kept reading the sequels because things get more interesting in the following novels. So, if, like me, you read this book and thought meh, I definitely recommend checking the sequels at well because they might surprise you in a good way. They definitely surprised me.
I sort of liked City of Bones but the rest of the series was just... I don't know it was just not good at all. The only book I've liked so far is City of Glass. I'm seriously wondering why there is so much hype around this series. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteSigh, I know what you mean. When I started this series I was so excited because everyone was so hyped about it, but I just didn't find it too amazing :( I think the book I liked most in the series was City of Lost Souls; I'm reading the last book now so I can decide how to rate the two final books... Glad you liked the review!
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